“Survivor” Season 43: Episode 4, Reviewed

On Wednesday, Oct. 12, CBS released another solid episode of “Survivor.” Like the last one, it was pretty straightforward, but still entertaining.

At the reward challenge, Vesi pulled out a rare victory. The tribe’s reward was unexpected: an opportunity to steal any item from either tribe. Safe to say, this could have in-game consequences at the merge when the tribes become one. However, Vesi ended up sending Cody to Coco, and he played it beautifully. He initially told Coco that his tribe wanted him to take their machete, but negotiated to receive only their fishing gear and some taro root. Cody left Coco with more than he planned on getting and still came out looking like the good guy — fantastic work from the salesman.

Vesi carried the momentum to the immunity challenge, which they won handily — getting rid of Nneka seems to have been the right decision. After completing their puzzle, Vesi chose to help Baka solve theirs, which caused Coco to lose the challenge. In my opinion, this was a short-sighted decision. I get that they wanted Coco to lose their first tribe member in order to even things out. But in “Survivor,” revenge outweighs gratitude. Helping Baka likely won’t change much, but Coco tribe members will never forget this challenge. This decision increases the likelihood of Vesi being targeted at the merge tenfold.

Back at Coco Beach, fans were reminded of an old “Survivor” truism: winning can be a curse. Most players apply for years before getting a callback, let alone getting on the show. They spend countless hours watching others play the game, planning what they would do in their spots. However, when these players actually get on the show, but go multiple rounds without voting, they get antsy. This episode, Lindsay became a prime example of this.

Geo was the easy vote since the majority (Karla, Cassidy, James, Lindsay) saw him as bossy. He had previously made a sloppy move, telling Karla that Cassidy was the boot without asking for any input; this didn’t signify trust in any way, and Karla was right to read this as bossy. However, Lindsay then made the same mistake as Justine two weeks prior. She told James and Karla that she feared the vote turning against her. There was a four-to-two advantage, but even if only James and Karla voted with Lindsay, there would at least be a tie. Basically, Lindsay told her two closest allies that she didn’t trust them to vote with her. Like two weeks ago, why would you trust someone that doesn’t trust you? Lindsay’s paranoia made her look unreliable as an ally and got her eliminated in a 4-1-1 vote. Lindsay voted for Geo, Geo voted for Cassidy, likely in case of an immunity idol, and the four remaining members voted for Lindsay.

Fourteen remain. The merge typically happens with about 10 to12 castaways left on the island, so it is quickly approaching. Tune in next week to continue to see how that merge will shake out.